By: Josh Stevens

It can be tough to be the first guy to go in the entire Home Run Derby. In fact, the guy who has led off the Derby hasn’t won it all since the MLB switched to a timed format. While going first can present both advantages and disadvantages, Palm Beach Diamond Ducks outfielder Cole Shields was able to overcome this to win the 2023 SFCBL Home Run Derby at Little Fenway. 

Ten home runs. This was the mark that won the Derby in 2022 for the SFCBL. However, Shields did not take any time to ease in on Sunday. In the two-minute period, Shields blasted 16 home runs for the top mark of the first round. 

Despite Shields’s great performance, he didn’t completely steal the headlines, as there were a few other solid performances in round one. Tyler Leach (Bucs) had 7, Kevin Milewski (Lightning) had 4, Joey Calbretti (Blazers) had 4, Max Carron (Barracudas) had 9, and Kaleb Hall (Knights) had 10 to also advance into the final round. 

The final round was much closer than the first round. Both Carron and Hall put up strong performances, as they each hit 9 homers in the two minutes. Despite the dominance by Shields in round one, we’ve seen guys like Julio Rodriguez “gas out” and have a poor second round. However, this wasn’t the case, as Shields blasted 12 homers to take the victory. 

“I was working on extension and getting out in front to get the ball over the wall” exclaimed Shields. “You need to get a little more extension to get the ball over the Green Monster, so I had my pitcher throw me balls middle-in to get out in front and get that extension.”

Presenting the award to Shields was VSa Lions owner Mo Vaughn, who knows a thing or two about hitting home runs. Vaughn was a 1995 Home Run Derby contestant. In that same year, he was both selected to the All-Star Team and won the AL MVP. He achieved this by playing his home games at Fenway, so Vaughn is all too familiar with the difficulty it takes to hit a ball over the Green Monster. 

While presenting the award, Vaughn exclaimed how impressed he was by the performance Shields put on. After the Derby, Vaughn made a speech to all of the 2023 SFCBL All-Stars, urging them to continue to work hard to see positive results and achieve their goals.

While just making it to the All-Star event is a goal that was achieved by every player in attendance, Shields is the only one who can say that he dominated the 2023 SFCBL Home Run Derby.